Until they are brought down, the Assads still labor under the belief
that they can finish off the resistance in Homs and throughout the country through
a combination of bombardment, ground assault, arrest, torture, assassination,
terror attacks and lies, i.e. – the famed security solution. The Assads can’t change
their spots. It’s the international community that has to change its tactics when
dealing with them, by admitting that its diplomacy has failed and that intervention,
for all its complications and potential pitfalls, is needed. The more this decision
is delayed, the worse and more complex the situation on the grounds will get.
Sunday February 19, 2012
Today’s death toll: 27,
including the district attorney of Idlib City and a district judge, whose
assassination is subject to controversy with the regime claiming that armed
gangs were responsible for the act, while local activists point the finger at
pro-Assad militias.
Meanwhile, the pounding of
Bab Amr and other restive neighborhoods in Homs continues with Assad loyalist
militias seeming to gear up for a ground attack. Many suburbs in Damascus City
today including those in Mazzeh, Midan, Naher Eisheh, Barzeh, Qaboun and Kafar
Sousseh observed a call for general strike.
The family of the local
activist Samer Al-Khateeb who was killed in Mazzeh yesterday was forced to bury
him at dawn to avoid having another mass rally in the increasingly restive
neighborhood.
3 protesters were killed in
the neighborhood of Bab Qibli in Hama City when loyalists opened fire on an
anti-Assad rally. 4 more were killed at the outskirts of the City when loyalist
militias opened fire on a passenger bus.
News
U.S.
military chief dubious about arming Syrian rebels (My Comment: Well,
then establish some contact with the FSA and the rebels in order to evaluate
their readiness, know who they are and understand what they stand for. Maintaining
a policy of aloofness, standoffishness and leading from behind is not going to
help with that.”
Op-Eds & Special Reports
According
to the Russian newspaper, Pravda,
I seem to be part of the American conspiracy against Syria:
“The FUKUS
axis has used as its agents the ex-Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam,
AIPAC member Farid al-Ghadry, Brookings Institution Fellow Ammar Abdul Hamid,
Jeffrey Feltman from the US State Dept and multiple Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
leaders to fund, incite, train, guide, organize and direct their agents within
Syria to bring down the Assad government.”
If there
were a conspiracy, the activists and the rebels would have enough
communications equipment, enough medical supplies and enough weapons to help
them in their fight against the Assads, instead of being so outmatched and embattled.
Moreover, after 11 months, I trust there would have been an intervention by
now. Unfortunately, the only provable conspiracy is the one woven by Assad and
their allies, including the Russians of course, against our freedom.
Homs
|
||||||
Homs City
|
||||||
Baba
Amr:
A message from local activist Khalid Abou Salah to the SNC: you haven’t done
anything of substance since the beginning of the bombardment. You should
immediately contact the Red Cross to encourage delivery of humanitarian aid
to the neighborhood, and you should do more press conferences to inform the
world of what’s happening in Baba Amr. We gave you legitimacy, and we can
take it away http://youtu.be/iKeKx4bOAyo
a young activist who was involved in smuggling humanitarian supplies to the
neighborhood is killed http://youtu.be/8PnU6aum-G8
The
pounding continues http://youtu.be/Is9k3DSxmqk
, http://youtu.be/V6TJPMhaVR8 , http://youtu.be/X4xqiAWNvAo Impact of
pounding http://youtu.be/ENg8b4jf1Q4
, http://youtu.be/ZAdrLznV_Ko , http://youtu.be/qnuGyi-7Pt4
Injuries
to the heads by sniper bullets and shrapnel remain very common: Old man http://youtu.be/4KZfyvja99I a child http://youtu.be/7u2ZNVg6vK4
Khaldiyeh: Martyr http://youtu.be/Z-pqcZXVDJU A funeral
for three http://youtu.be/mjo9KHOiw5U
Karm
Al-Zeitun:
Martyrs http://youtu.be/Qjir_VKI6Ko
, http://youtu.be/64QS9-16DOQ , http://youtu.be/QaiWhzHcCJU Omar
Tellawi takes us on a tour of the neighborhood under bombardment http://youtu.be/7LjtR7JoPMw
Insha’aat: tanks take up
position near the local headquarters of the Baath Party http://youtu.be/rRqE1Hgnig0
Bab
Al-Sibaa:
the pounding continues http://youtu.be/MVi8MBN6dHk
|
||||||
Daytime Rallies
|
||||||
Qoussour (all-girls) http://youtu.be/8hwb6aTqUrY
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Ghoutah http://youtu.be/QkEPYnspNA8 Wa’er
http://youtu.be/X8NLW7NGeTw Khaldiyeh
http://youtu.be/_dmPT8V873E Bab
Houd http://youtu.be/5k1uQQbjGsM
|
||||||
Homs Province
|
||||||
Rastan: new fighting unit
formed under FSA umbrella http://youtu.be/kER9OI9cKX0
New defectors http://youtu.be/QlqB84oiXjM
, http://youtu.be/VEgCHkHN6WY Impact
of shelling http://youtu.be/DqCrc-LK4Hs
Houleh: funeral http://youtu.be/ZmHvuJYgpx4 Mourners
come under fire and take cover while chanting defiantly http://youtu.be/Zc7UdO1l09o One of the
injured http://youtu.be/K1_2IOC5bsc
|
||||||
Damascus
|
||||||
Damascus City
|
||||||
Strike: Jobar http://youtu.be/NNfk24kjknA , http://youtu.be/WKsXS7Pk2eM Assaly http://youtu.be/L6XHKROQTOI Barzeh http://youtu.be/pHXEa5kYdXg , http://youtu.be/84G8UoYGL-Y
Blocking
roads by using burning tires and garbage dumpsters has become common practice
in many suburbs and neighborhoods close to main roads: Assaly http://youtu.be/i7sO15fnrx0 Barzeh http://youtu.be/kyMdKanes84
|
||||||
Daytime Rallies
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Barzeh http://youtu.be/uYrO93hpCsA Jobar
http://youtu.be/qJH1kNBID9Q
|
||||||
Damascus East (Eastern & Western Ghoutah)
|
||||||
Kafar
Batan:
tanks still in position throughout the neighborhood http://youtu.be/bxjpJl5rjH0
Dmeir: tanks and armored
vehicles continue to be stationed in the city http://youtu.be/6hQFckJdUKc , http://youtu.be/cVPmfI77FdY
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Arbeen http://youtu.be/bNOqDJUw6xY Douma
http://youtu.be/zsl857yKYh0
|
||||||
Damascus South (Southern Ghoutah)
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Daraya http://youtu.be/2GXhZ5p9N5g Qatana
http://youtu.be/QjR3THY4sJQ
|
||||||
North (The Qalamoun Region )
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Yabroud http://youtu.be/e9JfVOZi7NY
|
||||||
Hama
|
||||||
Hama City
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Bab
Qibli
http://youtu.be/-cMbXs3Fdw4
|
||||||
Hama Province
|
||||||
Kafrenboudeh: new clips from
the pounding that took place on Feb 16 showing the victims of the random
shelling still lying in the streets amidst the ruins http://youtu.be/eQvPQCyU3uA
Shaizar: child hit in the
head by a shrapnel during the bombardment of the town http://youtu.be/eHj-BxdDbvw
|
||||||
Daytime Rallies
|
||||||
Taybat
Al-Imam http://youtu.be/AaZ4R0G8vuM
|
||||||
Idlib
|
||||||
Ma’arrat
Masreen:
Martyr http://youtu.be/Rz3QqXJOM04
Ma’arrat
Al-Nouman:
Funeral http://youtu.be/fnLJNsC-hWI
Taftanaz: Funeral http://youtu.be/cT7n2__b6Wg , http://youtu.be/_eleECAGrD0
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Ma’arrat
Al-Nouman
http://youtu.be/dLjVjS7xgvo
|
||||||
Deraa/Hauran
|
||||||
Deraa/Hauran Province
|
||||||
Ankhel: Martyr http://youtu.be/ZtkQkxd0Sf0 His
funeral http://youtu.be/hFsgZh-Z458
Basr
Al-Harir:
impact of pounding http://youtu.be/RxFXQcDF6lE
, http://youtu.be/SEhduoY78Sg
Harrfah: funeral http://youtu.be/x0NnB-IJLEA
|
||||||
Daytime Rallies
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Aleppo
|
||||||
Aleppo City
|
||||||
Sukkari: protesters come
under fire http://youtu.be/mkCSHYKDmhk
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Sheikh
Maqsoud
http://youtu.be/hUIxojS5yBc Salaheddine
http://youtu.be/s3rk-sWwSDY
|
||||||
Aleppo Province
|
||||||
Al-Atareb: snipers take up
positions around town http://youtu.be/Ex56lnxTXGc
and tanks roam the streets http://youtu.be/3FNijmC8pGw
Funeral http://youtu.be/we7PiR9tdBg
The pounding of the city begins http://youtu.be/qVGclmzHEQw
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Tal
Rif’aat
http://youtu.be/v6T8JfJTDoY Marei
http://youtu.be/ucO5SRjdv38 Dar
Azzah http://youtu.be/buNtbjKd7DY
|
||||||
Deir Ezzor
|
||||||
Asharah: martyr http://youtu.be/X_nBHZ7dMsY
|
||||||
Daytime Rallies
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Deir
Ezzor City
http://youtu.be/EbaRiB-owxQ Qourieyh
http://youtu.be/ug7iYZgGgGc Shaikh
Yassin http://youtu.be/L2MhH8jJiQE
|
||||||
Hassakeh
|
||||||
Ghuweiran: nighttime
protesters http://youtu.be/99wnAW8Cr5c
come under fire http://youtu.be/vPT1rqleIRA
, http://youtu.be/sU4VRp2V_uQ
|
||||||
Nighttime Rallies
|
||||||
Amoudeh http://youtu.be/uAJBr-mFagE
|
||||||
FW:Many experts believe will become the Republican presidential candidate, and to defeat Obama's former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (Mitt Romney) in the Wall Street Journal published a special article "How will I cope with the rise of China from February 16force "(How I'll Respond applications to China's Rising Power)Romney said that, unless China changes its ways, or else the White House the first day of the designation of China as a currency manipulator, and to take appropriate counter-measure. He said: "I want to do and the China trade war, but I can not tolerate the trade capitulationism practice".
ReplyDeleteOn human rights issues, Romney made it clear that the CCP continues to deny the Chinese people enjoy political freedom and human rights, the United States must be forthright to fight back. If the United States because of fear of angering the Chinese Communists can not support Chinese dissidents, if the U.S. did not openly protest against the cruel practice of Chinese Communist one-child policy has brought the United States is the freedom of the cost, the result will only make the Chinese Communist authorities to the more blatant.
Romney think that the CCP is unable to obtain the trust of the international community, because "an oppression of his people, national, and international system based on an economic and political freedom, and ultimately can not become a trusted partner. The Chinese government in the development of market economy, but suppression of political reform and individual freedom, which will cause unease in the larger context. "